Samuel b



(No Model.)

s. B. JENKINS.

GAME COUNTER. No. 436,896. Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

WITNESSES INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL BQIENKINS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE G. QUINCY AND ERASTUS XVILLARD, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

GAM E-COUNTER.

V SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,896, dated September 23, 1890.

Application filed April 23, 1890. Serial No. 1 7 (N0 IIlOdBL) To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, SAMUEL J. JENKINS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new 5 and useful Improvement in Game-Counters,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvementin game-counters.

The object is to provide a simple and convenient game-counter which will occupy but little space above the table, which will rest in stable adjustment upon the table, and which will not be liable to become deranged through inadvertence, accident, or mistake.

WVith these ends in view the invention consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan view of the counter, showing certain of its parts reversed. Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinalsection. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation with one of the disks partially turned as in reversing it to count, and

Fig. 4 represents a plan view of a modification.

The gist of the invention lies in the assemblage of a series of rotary disks upon an axial bar or rod, the disks normally being pressed 0 toward one another under spring-tension to hold them in such position as may be desired, the disks being at the same time capable of a yielding movement away from one another under the positive pressure of the hand to 5 admit of reversing one or more of them, as

may be desired.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, A represents the axial bar or rod upon which the several disks are mounted. The

disks B are preferably of uniform size, and are of such thickness as to aiforda convenient grasp for the fingers in manipulating them. The opposite sides of the disks are flat and are colored differently, the side I) of each disk,

5 for example, being white and the opposite side I) being black. It is obvious, of course, that other colors save black and white might be employed to distinguish the opposite sides of the disks.

Each of the disks is provided with a pen foration b extending diametrically there* through and adapted to receive an axial rod A. The rod A is provided with heads a a to prevent the disks from sliding ofi their ends.

One of the disks B, that one adjacent to one end of the axial rod A, in the present instance adjacent to the head a, is further provided with an enlarged opening 71 extending from its outer edge partially through the disk, and within said enlarged opening around the axial rod A there is located a spiral spring 0, one end of said spring resting against the inner side of the head a and the other against the end of the enlarged opening b IVhen the disks are assembled on the rod A, as shown 6 in Fig. 2, the tension of the springOwill tend to force the disk B, within which it is seated, toward the others, and hence bring the perforations of each two adjacent disks in close contact.

To provide for locking the disks with their faces or backs uppermost, as may be desired,

I form a recess 19* in the edge of each disk at the point where it contacts with the disk adjacent thereto, and mount upon the axial rod A between each two disks a small stop I). I prefer to make the recesses bof semicircular form, as herein shown, and to make the stops 0 cylindrical, so that when in position between two adjacent disks the stop I) will be received half within the recess in one disk and the other half within the recess in the adjacent disk, thereby preventing the turning of one of the disks independently of the other, unless the stop I) be disengaged by in- S 5 tentional pressure.

In use-as, for example, in counting a game of whistthe disks may be turned with their backs upward at the start, and i when one, two, three, or four points are to be count- 0 ed the disks may be reversed one, two, three, or four of them, beginning at one end until the four are turned. I speak of the four for the reason that, as I have herein shown, the counter is particularly adapted for the count- 5 ing of games of whist, in which the count is commonly either five or seven, four disks being a sufficient number to conveniently count either of said numbers of points. The points above four may be readily counted by too a conventional understanding that when two end disks are turned faces up and the others faces dovvn it shall mean five, and when the two middle-disks are turned faces up and the two end disks faces down it shall mean six. Any one or more of the disks may be readily turned by grasping one of the stops D by its opposite ends and sliding the disks that are not to be turned away from the one that is to be turned against the spring-pressure and then allowing them to resume their normal condition in contact with each other or With the stops by the expansion of the spring.

In the modified form represented in Fig. 4 the stops are omitted and the adjacent edges of the disks are slightly flattened at the point Where they engage each other.

It is evident that slight changes in form and arrangement of the several parts described might be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of my invention. Hence I do not Wish to limit myself strictly to the construction herein set forth; but

WhatI claim as my invention,'and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A game-counter comprising a series of disks mounted upon an axial bar or rod extending through the disks from one side of their periphery to the opposite side of their periphery, the said disks having a rotary movement and a yielding sliding movement on the rod independently of one another, substantially as set forth.

2. A game-counter comprising a series of disks mounted upon an axial bar or rod, a spring seated within and exerting a pressure against one of the disks to hold the several disks in contact, the disks having a rotary movement on thesupport independent of one another, substantially as set forth.

3. A game-counter comprising a series of disks mounted in rotary adjustment upon an axial bar or rod and having their opposite sides diiferent in appearance, a spring for holding the series of disks normally in contact with one another, and stops intermediate of two adjacent disks in position to engage seats in the peripheries of the disks,.substantially as set forth.

SAMUEL B. JENKINS.

Witnesses:

- EDWARD J. J ONES, KATIE V KEOUGH. 

